i ; EXERA L PR A CTICE. ENEMIES. 



me female, though not absolutely wingless, possesses mere vestiges of wings, useless 

 tor flight. Both are greyish-brown, with darker bands across the wings, and the female 

 is larger in body than the male. The male moths appear a few days in advance of the 

 'emaVs, commencing flight early in October, and continue emergence until the end of 

 December or later, some appearing in spring. The female moth* crawl up the trees or 

 are carried there by the males, and deposit their eggs on the blossom, le .t' buds, shoots, 

 and other parts of the trees, favourite places of deposition being the cuds of pruned 

 branches. Each female may lay from 200 to 300 eggs. The caterpillars and buds 

 come to life together. The caterpillars are bluish green, shining, with a dark stripe 

 down the back, and three white stripes on each side ; but in some the ground colour is 

 a dull to a dark brown. The attacks of the caterpillars are shown iu Fig. 92, p. 291. 



The caterpillars eat into the 

 expanding buds, and as the 

 leaves enlarge they join two or 

 more together, feuding securely. 

 When of full size, they lower 

 themselves to the ground, bur- 

 row, and form earthen cocoons. 

 Some become pupae in June, 

 others later, from which moths 

 emerge in due time. 



To prevent the ascent of 

 wingless female moths and other 

 crawling insects, placing sticky bands on the stems of trees has been attended 

 with considerable advantage. This may be effected by procuring stout grease- 

 proof paper, and cutting it into strips 9 inches wide-. Place the strip of paper round 

 the stein, below the radiating branches, and clear, if possible, of the ground. The 

 strip of paper should be fixed firmly with string passed round the upper and the 

 lower edge. All tree stems, however, are not evenly round but furrowed, and when 

 the material is drawn round them, the hollows are merely converted into channels 

 T>y which the moths are guided under the greasy bands to the parts of the trees 

 above for depositing their eggs. Stop all such passages with moss, or other material 

 not likely to injure the bark. The bands must be attended to as often as is 

 needed for keeping them sticky. Mr. -T. Hiam, Astwood ISank, Kedditch, has after 



VOL. i. P P 



fig. 01. WlNTKR MOTH AND EGGS OX Al'i'LE BRANCHES. 



References: 1, male moth; 2, female moth ; 3, oggs on Luck, 

 email dots ; 4, eggs on cut stem ; ">, eggs highly magnified. 



